1375
Hammer (1) Hammer (1st Month) *1/1: Kelnozz and Nemesis travel to the 273rd layer of the Abyss. Kelnozz exacts revenge for the supposed death of his brother. The fiend known as "Gaunt" is slain. Milo'Sydakkys Rexx is banished from the Abyss (making his banished planes list quite impressice: Abyss, Prime, and the Astral) *1/2: The city of Athkatla is invaded with an overwhelming number of githyanki and slaves from the North and Western Heartlands. Most of the major cities in Amn report assassinations, deaths, disapearances, and confusion. *1/2: Cor, Dristin, and Kaurik receive sendings from the Council of Mintarn requesting assistance. Cor and Dristin enlist Vambran and his undead minions and setup shop in Mintarn, with the goal of defending the pirate outpost from a purge originating from the Moonshaes. Later in the the day, the trio is ambushed by Moonshae elite. The ambush consists of Tristan Kendrick, a skilled archer, a wizard named Relegu "the Independent", and Robyn Kendrick. During the fight, Kaurik teleports in and assists Cor, Dristin and Vambran. Also, Relegu's true identity is revealed. The wizard was struck with a Mordenkainen's Disjunction which dispelled his magical disguise thus revealing his indentity as Eregul the Freestave. The attackers from the Moonshae's were forced to flee, and did so successfully. After the fight some tense words were exchanged between Kaurik and Dristin. Ultimately Kaurik teleported away, but not before intimating about a desire to return to the group. *1/3: The Endeavor II sets off for Scornubel. *1/4: Kelnozz and Nemesis continue the assault on former Hell crewmen. They track down Milo'Sydakkys Rexx who has holed up in a fortress in the Nine Hells. The two elves recruit the assistance of the Drow elf K'Shar. The trio breach the outer defenses of the Fortress and come under attack from a Sirrush and a Gibbering Orb. The warrior and rogue in the group nearly perish under the magical assault of the gibbering orb. Nemesis comes to their resuce, successfully burninating both the epic creatures. *1/4: The capital city of Amn, Athkatla, falls to the githyanki horde and their red dragon fleet. The githyanki left no survivors this time. It is estimated that over 90,000 people died in the 2 day massacre. The githyanki set up a base and begin to patrol the surrounded lands for any non-githyanki. *1/5: Kaurik contacts Cor and Vambran and entices them to aid him against some of his enemies; specifically Jallixor the Infernal. Cor agrees to help if he is given access to a few spells from Kaurik's spellbook and if given assistance in transporting his ship to the Prime. Vambran agrees as well, naming his price in the form of a magic item. *1/5: Maxis gets tired of traveling with a Drow and finally makes good on his threat to kill Night Bane. *1/5 (5 minutes later): Maxis finally realizes he is a total dick and has no penis. *1/7: A fleet of 100 flying githyanki warships is spotted heading west across the sea towards The Moonshaes. *1/12: A unit from Bravo Company parachutes into Scornubel to aide in its defense. A force of Githyanki is known to be marching toward the city. The unit from Bravo Company consists of Red Crow, Slate Stonehold, Cliff Craven, Owen, Shinjo, Dexter the Molester, and Harrold Nimitz. *1/13: Lord Nasher of Neverwinter hires Autumnleaf and Chaos to investigate the whereabouts of the Holy Justice Les Balidarr after his disappearance after the attack from Khelben on the Endeavor. They agree and travel to Solaris for any information. Through a strange divination, Les revealed pieces of memory that suggest he was tortured magically by the corrupted Khelben and that his very essence "broke" into two halves. One half, (stuck in some purgatory dimension), states he has tried to reach out for help but that nobody appears to notice him, as if he didn't exist. Following some leads, Autumleaf travels to the Ardeep Forest to find a group of clerics and paladins hailing from the Mosque of Tyr that had been recently freed from the tyranny of the githyanki. Autumleaf found the group injured and half of their members in funeral pyres. Further investigations reveal a growing blight of evil on the land emanating from an old abandoned dwarven stronghold, now referred to as the Dark Bastion of Lost Souls. The only survivors, Sir Lathan Hawkellow and the charismatic bard known as Vanderford the Even-Handed (modeled after a nickname of Tyr) were moved to safety among the dryads. Autumleaf spends the evening learning about the journeys of the band and tends their wounds as Chaos and Flash are summoned to the forest. *1/14: The good group heads to the Dark Bastion and deals with a multitude of enemies before laying low Drakkaram, an ancient Treant of unknown origin whos fruit bore healing properties. Drakkaram was now corrupted and produced deadly fruit in the shape of skulls and kept an unholy fog surrounding the Bastion a mile in radius. The group enters the Bastion and fights their to the dungeon levels where they discover a shrine to Tyr but very much corrupted. A large group of enemies awaited including Les (a Death Knight covered in blackfire, a simulacrum of Khelben, and others. The group prevails and takes the body of Les Balidarr back to the church of Tyr in Waterdeep. *1/15: The Endeavor II arrives near Secomber. A unit of Desperate Men led by Sunshine debarks and begins investigating the disappearance of a Cormyrean envoy. The unit consists of Sunshine, Gunner, Chuckles, Garreth, Rexxar, and Wade. *1/15: Cor finishes researching a spell that will transport his ship to Faerun. Kaurik finishes creating an item that will assist in the assassination of his enemies (dimensional shackles). *1/16: Kaurik, Cor and Vambran try to track down Jallixor, but the spell that originally located the infernal no longer reveals his location. They decide instead to set a trap. Kaurik travels to the Sorcere (the last known location of Jallixor, and Kaurik's former place of employment) and schedules time in the laboratory, also voicing his intention of returning in a few days. Meanwhile, Cor transports his ship to Faerun (arriving only 430 miles off course :) and sets off towards the Lake of Dragons. *1/18: Cor sets up the ship relatively near Suzail (and Vaerus, the city where the Sorcere is located). Kaurik, Cor and Vambran then return to the Sorcere to claim the lab space. The intention was to lure Jallixor into an attack, where upon the trio of spellcasters would be ready, and turn the ambush on the infernal, locking him to this plane via the dimensional shackles, and then chucking him into the soul furnace which drives Cor's ship. The ambush occurs as expected. Jallixor, four Balors, and an alhoon assault Kaurik, Cor, Vambran and Mazzrym (Vambrans ghost cornugen minion). A furious battle ensues: Cor pain webs the balor's which nearly becomes his own undoing as one of the balor's implodes himself (due to attempting the spell upon vambran who was under the effects of a spell reflection) and sets off a chain reaction of Balor explodyness. The alhoon and Jallixor nearly bring down Kaurik. The combined efforts of the trio of spellcasters finally turn the tide and in a fit of sorcerous exuberance Cor accidently reduces both the Infernal and the Alhoon into dust via a suped up Sphere of Ultimate Destruction. *1/19: Sunshine and team battle humanoids in a mountain lair. Rexxar is killed in action. *1/21: Maernid's Tournament. A number of local wizards participate in the tournament of sorcery. Dristin and kaurik compete for the second time, joined by Cor, Kallimun Kreed, Cortez, Haigon Blooddragon, Nemesis, Eregul, a warlock named Davrum, Rapha Tanthul, Joran Kilder, (and one more I can't remember). Only 4 wizards moved onto the second round of the competition. The second round was a battle royale pitting Dristin, Cor, Eregul, and Davrum against each other. Dristin quickly penetrated Eregul's potent defenses by shapechanging into an iron golem and charging. Davrum, perhaps inspired by Dristin's display shapechanged into a dragon and forced Dristin from the arena. Cor then fired a powerful slaying spell at the warlock, thus securing first place and winning the coveted nether scroll. *1/21: Sunshine and team return to Secomber with freed prisoners from the Cormyrean envoy. The report is that the Cormyrean Diplomat was killed by a Cormyrean outlaw by the name of Theodore Cooper. In actuality, the outlaw was the diplomat and the whole envoy was a farce at the creation of the outlaw in order to facilitate his escape from Cormyr. Presently this outlaw is at large. *1/23: The desperate men in Secomber (sunshine, gunner, chuckles, and garreth) accept an offer from local leader Trasker to investigate and eliminate a nearby super natural threat. The group ventures into a mine and battles with ancient warring factions of ghost sorcerers and gargoyles. They free two ancient prisoners, quinton and Aria. Quiton aids the group in defeating the sorcerers. Aria turns out to be a villain, whom is recaptured and turned over to officials in secomber. *1/29: unknown enemies of Tarek Wingspur free the Elder Titan known as Chronus. Chronus recruits the aid of an ancient prismatic dragon and sets off to destroy Tarek's holdings and to free the Praetorian. The Praetorian warns his Titan brother but fails to disuade Chronus's objective. Chronus and the dragon arrive in Yulash to find the Praetorian waiting. Once again the Praetorian attempts to warn Chronus. Chronus refuses to back down. The Praetorian erupts with arcane energy, pulling a future version of himself into the present timeline. @raetorian prime charges Chronus and unleashes a mighty blow. The Praetorian's hammer strikes true and reduces his brother to dust. Meanwhile, Praetorian beta pursues the now frightful prismatic dragon. The dragon resists a powerful curse from the Praetorian and decides that he has pressed his luck too far and quickly flees. His duty discharged for the moment, the Praetorian silently regards his fallen adversary before teleporting off to his abode. Alturiak (2) *2/1: Team of Desperate Men consisting of Gunner, Hawk, Beornibur, Dargrum, and Luke parachute into the mountains near the Mines of Durimek. *2/3: Team of Desperate Men consisting of Sunshine, Cy, Whisper, Snake, Wade, and Davun are deployed in the Mountains north of Waterdeep in order to assist the town of Mirum's Hold. *2/7: The Desperate Men successfully liberate Mirum's Hold. It is rumored that the commanding officer, Jordan "Sunshine" Masterson executed more than 50 prisoners. *2/8: A team of Desperate Men are dispatched to free Waterhavian soldiers trapped in a mine by githyanki. The team sees no easy solution, and are vastly outnumbered. Before attempting a rescue, their mission orders change, and they abandon the trapped soldiers. *2/14: Druxus begins a scouting/recruiting mission in Raven's Bluff *2/14: 4 "Merchant Lords" are sent to Harrowdale by Dross. *2/17: Druxus and Damian Rethart kidnap two of Lord Immerdeep's (sp?) daughters in exchange for the freedom of Weilynn Blacksong. *2/20: Druxus, Weilynn, Damien, and Kurthan journey to the Sarbredeen (sp?) in an attempt to locate dwarven treasure. They encounter a group of Illithids (duegar and a beholder). Battle is waged, with Druxus and company coming out on top. *2/22: Cor finishes reading his new Nether Scroll *2/24: Cor and Kaurik begin tracking down the Drow incantrix Joran Kilder (the previous winner of Maernid's Tournament). *2/24: Druxus and company reclaim a massive dwarven horde from the Sarbredeen. While exiting the underground area, they are ambushed by Immderdeen and his battlemage. Both attackers are killed. *2/26: Cor and Kaurik travel to Sshamath to meet Joran. Upon meeting the duo attacks and kills Joran and two of his associates. Ches (3) *3/1: Autumnleaf, Flash, Seargent "Sunshine" Masterson, and the paladin Corin, are dispatched from Waterdeep to investigate the disappearance of a team of paladins who were sent to a Waterhavian fort some 180 miles away. During their investigation, they learn that an exiled noble named "insert name here" has claimed the fort and takent he paladins prisoner. Autumnleaf demands the release of the prisoners, and negotiations take a violent turn. During the fracas, several of the combatants offer to surrender to the Waterhavian force. Sunshine ignores the surrender and strikes one of them down. Later, two of the outlaws are taken prisoner. During deliberations on how to handle the prisoners, Sunshine strikes a deal with one of them, and slays the other in his cell. The lone remaining prisoner then corraborates Sunshine's claim that the slain prisoner attempted to cast a spell. *3/5: Zhent Nation marches on to Phlan. *3/6: Cor completes research on "Cor's Shadow Double". *3/8: Haplo (zhent ambassador) offers Phlan terms of surrender *3/9: Seargent Jordan "Sunshine" Masterson is court marshalled for executing a surrendering prisoner. Charges were brought forward by the paladin Corin, who witnessed the prisoner's execution. Before he can be arrested, Sunshine dissappears into the night. *3/10: Phlan officially enters the Zhent Nation *3/11: A team of Desperate Men, consisting of Bjorn, Jinx, Gunner, and led by Hawk, are sent to aid in transporting a group of githyanki prisoners captured near Daggerford. On the way there, Hawk reports that the team was ambushed by githyanki assassins. His report indicates that almost instantly Gunner Jinx and Bjorn are slain, while he himself only miraculously fought his way free. *3/13: Blackturret announces Thentia's entrance into the Zhent Nation. *3/15: Cor completes research on Cor's Homunculus Shield. Mysteriously, an entire kobold tribe from the Dragonspine Mountains disappears. *3/17: Divinations were called in order to access the threat of githyanki assassinations as reported by Corporal Errol "Hawk" Hawkins. It is revealed that Hawk fabricated the story in order to cover for the desertion of Bjorn, Jinx and Gunner. Hawk is subsequently Court Marshalled and imprisoned. *3/18: Glister is destroyed by the Burning Daggers Humanoid tribe. There were no survivors. *3/19: Cor gathers the necessary people and casts Cor's Shadow Double. *3/20: Kaurik gathers the necessary people and casts Kaurik's Epic Repulsion. *3/20: Sahuagin sink Hulburg *3/20: Thentian Liberation Front is formed. *3/26: Errol 'Hawk' Hawkins stands trial for assisting desertion, and for falsifying reports and for behavior unbecoming of an officer. During the trial Hawk gives his account on the treatment of the soldiers, and in desperation attempts to break free of his imprisonment. The Bailiff the cruelly beats Hawk. The judge orders Hawk's immediate execution. A crowd forms outside where the firing line sets up. The Bailiff then announces to the crowd that the execution took place in private. A lone arrow flies from an unknown source, striking and killing the Bailiff. *3/26: Beornibur, Jaskon, Zatoichi, Slate, Quill Gravewind, and a new recruit named Lorien all desert in the aftermath of Hawk's trial. *3/27: Kaurik completes research on Possesion of Mephistopheles. Tarsakh (4) *4/1: Cor completes research on Temporal Backdrop. *4/3: Cor, Vambren, and Kaurik begin to research the origins of the nether scrolls and try to find any leads to their whereabouts. *4/5: After some investigating, Cor discovers from multiple sources that the elves of Myth Drannor are rumored to have stolen a full set of nether scrolls, although nobody can physically or magically confirm this. Further research into Myth Drannor reveals information about the famous Windsong Tower, where students were taught ancient magical practices and sworn to secrecy. Special rings are required to enter the tower as it is protected by a powrful Mythal crafted ages ago. *4/5: Beornibur, Jaskon and Zatoichi are camped along the road between Loudwater and Llorkh when they are ambushed. Jaskon, on watch, is killed by an archer, Beornibur draws enemy fire, allowing Zatoichi to escape. Later Beornibur awakes imprisoned by drow brigands. He attempts to escape but fails. Jaskon's spirit is contacted by a drow priest. Jaskon agrees to reveal information about the Crimson Eagles, but demands Beornibur's release first. After Beornibur is free, Jaskon reneges on his deal and refuses ressurection. *4/6: The group learns of a tavern close to Elventree that is a hot spot for adventures to visit. In particular, adventures that were on their way to the famous Myth Drannor or returning from their journey. The tavern is called Myth & Magic. It is said that the establishment is much more than just a waystation for adventurers to rest. Many rumors suggest that a group of powerful elves have set this place up for gathering information with the intention of reclaiming lost artifacts and relics of their ancient homeland. *4/6: A group of adventurers, heroes of the war between Shadowdale and Zhentil Keep were making their way to Elventree. The group, led by High Lady of Mysteries Elmrundarr the Silvered is believed to have spent significant time in Myth Drannor and possibly has access to Windsong Tower. Cor, Kaurik, Vambren, Kelnozz, and K'Shar (pronounced "Kuh-Shar" from here on out) decide to intercept. *4/7: Luring would be heroes away from Myth Drannor or Elventree, the evil group sets up an ambush point on a major road into Myth Drannor where rumors of a demon threat would hopefully get back to the ears of high ups within Myth Drannor. The first group dispatched were killed easily with a lone druid escaping and returning shortly with reinforcements. *4/7: A battle went on between the evil guys and High Lady of Mysteries, revealed to be a gold dragon High Priest of Mystra, Prince Aurik, elven defender of Myth Drannor and cousin to the current Coranel, an elven druid known as "The Great Bear", for his legendary bear form, a Leonal warrior of significant skill named Prince Rathmir, and a Solar named Goldeneyes--whos idea to shift to the ethereal plane to attack the ghost was absolutely correct and Andy screwed me on that one; ya bastard. The evil group prevailed with Vambren raising a few more meat shields for defenders. *4/8: Jaskon Huron is tricked by his drow captor into being resurrected. He is then forced via magic into the drow's service. *4/10: Hawk makes contact with Gregor Silverforge and embarks on a quest along with Gregor's son "Hairy" to find and liberate an old dwarven fortress. *4/16: Hawk and Hairy make progress in the fortress. At some point they are attacked by fiendish creatures, one of which is wearing a collar with a snake emblem emblazoned on it. They defeat these creatures, and are then surprised to see a gate open up. A figure steps through that appears to be an older (and more badass) version of Hawk. The older Hawk gives the present Hawk a warning about the future. He tells himself that Gregor must be protected, and that Hawk must sekk out a couple of chronomancers in the present time (and obtain some swords known as the Blade of Time). At this point, a Time Guardinal arrives and present Hawk and Hairy are forced to flee. *4/17: Hawk and Hairy make haste back to Gregor. Once at the dwarven town, they find that Gregor and several other dwarves are being held captive by Githyanki. Hawk, Hairy, Melgard, Whistler, and Keldar break in and rescue Gregor (but not before Melgard is nearly killed when a fiendish troll rips Melgard's arm off). *4/19: To help hide Gregor from future, time travelling enemies, Hawk and Gregor fake Gregors death. Then Gregor sets up a secret forge in the ancient dwarven Fortress that Hawk and Hairy recently freed. *4/25: Hawk recruits many of his former Crimson Eagle squad mates to form their own company: The Hawk Feathers. *4/28: Hawk travels back in time: All alternate timeline posts will now be in bold and red *4/31: Blood Bath 4: Dross calls in past agreement with Melkose, for Melkose to take a dive in the tournament (thereby losing to K'shar). Mirtul (5) *5/1: Dross names the victims for Melkose to irrevokably kill. Melkose, fresh off the indignity of his actions at the blood bath, steadfastly refuses to honor his deal with Dross. The consequences thus rendered...Zaebos now owns Melkose's soul for eternity. *5/2: Melkose, now without an expiration date for his servitude, is thereby much more free to pursue his own agenda. Zaebos allows Melkose some lattitude with his presence, since now even if killed, Melkose will belong to him forever. *5/6: The Zaratan moves into position deep in the waters close to Melvaunt. After 60 days of laying siege to Melvaunt, orders come down that an attack could come soon and to prepare. An ambassador is sent into Melvaunt to meet with the ruling families and other councils that govern the merchant city. Negotiations begin with Melvaunt wanting the slavery trade embargo imposed by Tarek to be lifted giving Melvaunt titular control over the trade. *5/7: Further negotiations continue between Hugh the Hand (the official ambassador for the Zhent nation) and the Council of Lords of Melvaunt. The Council decides to essentially buy the encroaching army of Zhentil Keep off by paying a quarterly tithe of council profits to them. In addition to the cold hard cash, Zhentil Keep requests an annual supply of soldiers that would enlist in the Zhentilar army for varying lengths of service. The soldiers would be paid by Zhentil Keep as well as the regular pay from Melvaunt to them and their families. This draws a lot of interest from the councilors whos constituents are involved in the military. *5/7: The Lord of Keys, Halmuth Bruil meets with Hugh the Hand declaring the council's ruling as a mockery and an insult to the city's power. While cruel and bent on military conquest, Halmuth sees the decision to buy off the army as nothing but ill-informed and weak. He believes that Zhentil Keep will keep coming back demanding more money, more troops, and the bribes will never truly end. Believing he can save "his" city and his family, Lord Bruil decides to stage a coup on all the other families, declaring himself the true ruler of Melvaunt. Backed by the Zhent nation, plans are formulated to assassinate 15 council members during the signing of the declaration. Halmuth would absorb all the familial assets of the 15 councilors and come out as Melvaunt's one and only ruler. *5/8: The deal goes down between Zhentil Keep and Melvaunt. With a surprise attack, the councilors are overwhelmed by force. 1 council member escapes, 2 are taken prisoner, and the rest or murdered. Halmuth Bruil declares himself the "Iron Lord" of Melvaunt. The western gates to the city are opened allowing Zhent soldiers into the city without a fight. Civil war erupts in the streets between those Swords that are loyal to the Bruil rule and those that are loyal to keeping Zhentil Keep out; led by the former Lord of Keys. *5/9: After gaining some serious momentum, followers rally behind the Thentian Liberation Front (TLF) to try and depose the Zhent government and leaders. *5/10: An unknown, former Red Wizard (Druxus) contacts the soon to be displaced slavers of Phlan, Melvaunt and Thentia. He begins purchasing key components to their organizations. *5/10: Wix meets with Akavarasha Nanther and discusses a deal. Akavarasha then accomanies Balorfield, Rock, Ally, Rrenchon, Nimmzear, and Shounra into the Nanther compound which has been taken over by Yugoloths. *5/11: Civil unrest persists in Melvaunt as the Former Lord of Keys, Lord Abarel Stendale organizes a military force opposed to Halmuth Bruil and more specifically, the Zhent forces occupying the city. A battle breaks out around a military encampent within the city with the Zhents coming out victorious. Lord Abarel barely escapes the ordeal and takes his forces out of the city through secret underground tunnels. His High Captain, Hitofu is captured and imprisoned. *5/11: Tarek sends several wizards to Chessenta, specifically Airspur, Akanax, Cimbar, and Soorenar. Thagdall, Williard, O'Canna, and Eregul are among the Zhentil Keep representatives. *5/12: A spy from Lord Balorfield's team tracks down the exiled forces from Melvaunt. Masquerading as a fellow hater of the Zhent rule, he successfully enters their ranks. *5/12: The TLF are exposed. Thought to be freedom fighters working towards the independance of Thentia, they are revealed to be terrorists responsible for civilian casualties caught up in their collateral damage. During the last stand of a climactic battle, TLF members rallied behind Lord Khordalis and his coup attempt. Lord Khordalis, leader the most influential house in Thentia was quickly assassinated after stepping out of the shadows of his organization. TLF members flee and go underground where rumors persist of the powerful wizard Phourkyn "One-Eye" is protecting them. *5/12: Miklos and the Silver Ravens travel to the city of Calaunt. *5/13: Thentians publicly recognize the Zhentarim as their legitimate government and hold a ceremony to officially enter themselves into the Zhent nation. *5/13: Melkose, in the guise of "The Black Lion" takes over a small mercenary company in Westgate. *5/14: The Angels of Death set up shop in Calaunt. *5/15: "Agent X"; Balorfield's deep cover operative within Lord Abarel's forces have allied/merged with The Knights of the North. This drastically increases the numbers in the Knight's organization. Lord Abarel takes a position as High Captain within the company. *5/17: Ohgren, a diplomat from the Zhent Nation meets with the Merchant Dukes of Calaunt. *5/18: Agent X sends word; The Knights of the North are focused on recruiting. Although the organization is staying low and constantly on the move, they are gaining some serious ground increasing their numbers. *5/19: Miklos with the Silver Ravens and a small collection of Harpers attack a Shadow Cloak safe house. The attack was timed to correspond with a Drow attack on the Shadow Cloaks. It is suspected that the Drow are being sponsered by Irabella, a masked agent of Mulmaster. It is also suspected that Irabella is also targetting the Merchant Dukes. *5/19: The Dukes are attacked and (allegedly) replaced with imposters under the command of Irabella of Mulmaster. *5/20: Melkose discovered secrets concerning his lineage. *5/21: Melkose contacts Mirabeta the Overmistress of Sembia about a possible alliance. She initially refuses his advances. Later Illyana Selkirk (Mirabeta's neice) contacts Melkose with a counter offer from Mirabeta. *5/24: Melkose, Dross, Cor, Kelnozz, Nemesis, Kaurik, Dristin, Tez, Vambran and Kshar make a deal with Agnimia. She tasks the group with finding her brother Regalid, in exchange for information about the Magister. The group then decends the infinite staircase to the elemental plane of fire. Along the way they encounter an infernal named Shaethreth who seems to also be looking for Regalid. The group spurns the infernals offer of aid. Once outside the Tower of Kerleth the group encounters a massive red dragon. The dragon seems to be more than a match for the group, who initially flee (and go recruit Dristin and Tez). Upon returning, they enact a strategy enabled by Kelnozz's armor of the dread emporer. With Melkose taking the brunt of the dragon's wrath, Cor is ultimately able to down the beast with his signature Dark Bolt spell. The group then systematically investigates the Tower. They battle all kinds of creatures, and ultimately find Regalid and a codex of infinite planes. Regalid explains that he had stolen the codex from Schaethreth. Regalid and the codex then stay in the tower while the group ventures out to meet the infernal. Schaethreth is lying in wait with two leshay's. A battle ensues where Schaethreth, in a single swoop, downs Melkose, Kaurik, Nemesis, and Vambran. The only remaining combatents are Dross, Kshar (who were both hiding) and Cor, who only narrowly avoided death. Cor then desperately plane shifts out with the 4 dead bodies in tow. Kshar makes a grab for kelnozz (who was charmed by the leshay) and biffs out. Dross sticks around to gather intel before also shifting out. The guys regroup and res. up. Cor and Kaurik nearly come to blows concerning ownership of a libram of level upping. In the end, Kaurik backs down, but bears a grudge. The group gets the info they need in order to pursue the Magister. *5/24: The Order of the Black Lion embark on a mission to accompany a merchant ship to Sembia. The goods were high end dresses from Dawn's Dress Shop, and a special box (later revealed to be secret documents between The Night Masks and Lady Mirabetta of Sembia; whom very recently ascended to leadership after her Uncle passed away. The Order fell under pirate attack from the feared Captain Wickstrom and ended up in a stalemate with both parties bargaining back hostages. Thought that the special box was captured by Wickstrom and company, Bragrum stalled the negotiations long enough for Sunshine to slip aboard our captured ship and steal the box back. Bragrum and company make way to Sembia and look for quick work while there and barter their way back to Westgate. *5/22: In the confusion of Wyndra Syrrylstone’s paranoia, she orders a team to detain Ceri and companions and bring them in for questioning. Two teams are dispatched: Team 1 is to enter the Red Fires Inn and detain the group, Team 2 is to wait outside in case the group flees or in case group 1 needs assistance. ** Team 1—Arvonne the Supreme Justice, a cleric of Tyr that leads the team. Alia Silverstone, a shadowy rogue devoted to Selune. Bronwyn Caradoon, a harper scout. Eben Stonethunder, a dwarven fighter/rogue. “Britt”, a human female rogue. Ramin, fighter. **Team 2—Wyndra the “Moon Mistress”, High Priestess of Selune. High Morninglord Chansebel Dreen, master harper. Madeiron Sunderstone, paladin of Tyr. Nadia, the High Moon Arcane, Master wizard devoted to Selune. ** 'Deaths: ' Chansobel Dreen (killed by Ceri), Arvonne (killed by Ceri), Eben (killed by Ceri), Ramin (killed by Ceri), Bronwyn (killed by Mirrim), Britt (killed and eaten by Mirrim), Madeiron was dropped by Sorsha (but escaped), Alia escaped using shadow magic, All others escaped **Ceri and the Femme Fatales attack and kill Winedra in her church. A second group disatched from Irabella adds to the confusion. In Wyndra's camp, Sagad the Elder (killed by Ceri), 2 elite church guards (killed by Sorsha), Cullin the blessed, a Planetar cleric of Selune (killed by Mirrim), Wyndra (killed by Mirrim). In Irabella's camp, 1/2 fiend unique beholder (killed by everyone), 2 wizards outside (killed by Ceri). **After chasing down Cullin and killing him, Mirrim collects Wyndra's body that Cullin was fleeing with. *5/24: Mirrim begins transitioning his intel to Ceri and to Nimm. Nimm takes up the mantle as Irabella's spymaster. *5/24: A deal is struck between the Zhent Ambassador in Akanax (Chessenta). 6000 Chessentan soldiers begins the journey north to join the Zhent Crusade. A contingent of Zhent wizards are subsequently dispatched to Chessenta. *5/25: A small exploration team (including Britty) is dispatched to map the mountain tunnels in and around the Mulmaster area. *5/25: A secret Scheme is begun in the depths of Ironfang Keep involving 3 Deepspawn. *5/25: Tarek and Busoga meet in the pit of the Anauroch and step through a portal leading them to the Quicksilver Hour Glass. *5/25: Agent X sends word to Balorfield on the movements of the Knights of the North. With the intel, an army of humanoids are dispatched to rendevous with them. Led by the fierce and legendary leader Thurgod, his forces manage to back the Knights of the North into a mountain stronghold. Thurgod's goblins and orgres surround the hideout blocking all exits. Heldel Thasstan, a high priest of Tymora along with a large unit of Knights are trapped. Goblins swarm in and drag the high priest out where Thurgod orders his troops to tear him apart. The rest of the men are slaughtered with only a few of them escaping the carnage. *5/26: Nimm organizes an attack on the Silver Ravens. Along with Nym Mlezir, Godric (Irabella's brother), A host of barbarians, and a contingent of Tempurians, they corner the Silver Ravens on a Sembian ship and kill everyone on board. *5/27: Melkose finally locates Dryden in BFE forest. After doing battle with Dryden's quasi-nemesis druid, Tuatha Na Nog, and lopping the head off the druid's animal companion, he convinces Dryden to come back with him. *5/27: The Angels in Calaunt attack Godric the assassin. During the attack, Nimm dominates Godric. They question him, and develop a plan to attack Irabella. They then venture to Irabella's main contact in Calaunt (insert mage's name here) and attack. They quickly overcome him, and use his device to transport to Irabella's lair. Once there, the Angels and Brothers Nimm attack Irabella and her Balor body guard. In a frantic, and wild battle, the Angels and Brothers prove victorious. *5/28: Roc, along with a hand picked retinue is sent into the Ride in order to unite/recruit the indigenous people into the Zhent Nation. Kythorn (6) *6/1: Members of the Order of the Black Lion travel East in an effort to capture Githyanki technology and materials. The Order entered the city of Iriaebor (which is now under military law) and entered an agreement with General Bron. Bron gave Bragrum information of the whereabout of githaynki forces and would allow their travel through Iriaebor's zone (without confiscating armor and weapons, or impressing service into the army) if Bragrum and his men would rescue some soldiers caught beind enemy lines. In the foray West, Jinx was killed by a Red Dragon. *6/2: The Black Lion dispatches an expedition team to scout the areas around Nightmare Keep that was once occupied and controlled by Lord Melkose. Areas of interest are the Veilstone Peaks, The Black Acropolis, Castle Ratakos, The Deep Pass, and others. *6/2: Tarek and Busoga emerge from the Time Void with a flesh sample of the Corpse Terror (active clone spell from the Corpse Terror on the sample). *6/3: '''The Dark Council meets in Nightmare Keep: '''For the first time in close to 5 years, all members of the Dark Council meet in the war room at Nighmare Keep. A party is selected to travel to Shadowdale and liberate them from Shade. The team consists of (and in order of rank relating to the party): General Balorfield, General Odin Milefin, Ally, Ryershil, Darth Revan, Kale. *6/4: Roc and his men engage a tribe of horsemen from the ride, setting off a four day series of raids and attacks. On the 5th day, the Barabarians of the Ride gain the upper hand and drive Roc into retreat back towards Zhentil Keep. Hours later, Roc rallies the men, and brings them back around for a surprise counter attack. The Barbarians of the Ride were caught by surprise, having been in the midst of reveling in their earlier victory. The tribe is forced to flee after taking significant losses. *6/5: Balorfield and Company enter Shadowdale and make contacts in the Old Skull Inn. They learn that shadovar forces have taken control of the town. That night, they assault Watcher's Knoll destroying the dracolich and enter the crypt of Aumry Obarskyr and Anastra Silverhand. They do battle with a corrupted clone of Elminster and other nasties freeing Sylune. Balorfield dies in the encounter after charging Elminster within his anti-magic shell. Darth Revan discorporates in a blast of flame. *6/5: Tarek meets with the Dukes of Calaunt. The Dukes officailly agree to enter Zhent Nation. *6/6: Zhent Nation (with Calaunt) declares War on Mulmaster. *6/6: Dryden meets with Lilandrian of House Daemonfey and discusses a possible alliance in order to expel the elves from Cormanthor. They decide to separately conduct recruiting missions and meet in 1 month's time. *6/6: The Knights of Shadowdale (Balorfield and company), make contact with local druids. They defeat a corrupt druid, and some sort of corrupting sphere, and gain the support of the area druids. They agree to show the Knights of Shadowdale a secret way into the Tower of Ashaba. *6/7: The Knights of Shadowdale assualt the Tower of Ashaba. Inside the Tower, they rescue over a hundred imprisoned citizens of Shadowdale. They battle Yder Tanthul's son, killing him and a corrupted Mourngrym. Immediately following the raid in the Twisted Tower, the Knights of Shadowdale take advantage of the confusion to attack Castle Crag and the humanoid forces stationed there. *6/7: Continuing their attack, the Knights of Shadowdale storm Castle Crag (or as Kallimun would spell it: Kastle Krag). Ally and Rysheril attempt to infiltrate the castle, to mixed results. Ultimately an unorthodox leaping, tumbling, chaotic attack is conducted. Ryershil and Ally get split up, but regroup inside the castle. The Knights kill most of the leaders in the castle, and discover Azalar Falconhand (who was being held captive in the basement of the castle). They briefly allied with Gold Donger. Gold Donger then executed Azalar. Then the Knights of Shadowdale executed Gold Donger. At this point, word reached Castle Crag that "Rebels" were being lined up at Fox Hill for a farce of a trial and confession. Balorfield traveled to the Church of Tymora, looking for his hook up, while the rest of the group traveled to Fox Hill. At the hill, Shadovar forces claimed that the Knights of Shadowdale had murdered Lord Mourngrym, and lined up were people who had helped them. The prisoners included The priestess of Tymora, the serving staff at the Old Skull Inn, and another prisoner made to look like Balorfield. After a brief confession, the prisoners were executed. Just before the execution of the Priestess, Odin dashed in, grabbed the Priestess, and used to the miracle of Sylune's kiss to teleport out. The kinghts then reconvened at the Druid's Grove. *6/7: Following the battle with the Githyanki and the Red Dragon, Bragrum takes the Order of the Black Lion back to Iriaebor in order to heal up. When back in the city, General Bron attempts to press the Order into Iriaebor's service. Bragrum is taken prisoner, Sunshine, and Cyrus are also imprisoned. Gunner, Kunlow, Bjorn, and Belroar resist Bron. The "mexican standoff" erupts and a depserate battle ensues. Already wounded from the fight with the githyanki, Bjorn Belroar and gunner nearly succumb to Bron and his attack. Trep, a member of Bron's retinue, switches sides and helps turn the tide against Bron. In the end, the only casualty from the battle is Bron himself. Following the battle, Bragrum offers aid and employment to any Iriaebor soldier or refugee who wishes to travel east to relocate in Westgate. *6/8: Ally meets with Jezz the Lame of House Jaelre. An alliance is discussed. *6/8: Godric abducts Sorsha and Ronda. Dross cuts a deal, giving Irabella's mask (The mask of Hades) to him in exchange for the angels (and the promise to not interfere with the coming attack). *6/8: while camped at the Druid's Grove, the Knights of Shadowdale are attacked. The ambush is sprung when Darth Revan is on watch and is possessed by Yder Tanthul. During the attack, the Knights are nearly dispatched. Odin and Balorfield are forced to flee, Kale is taken captive, but ultimately the attackers are driven off. The aftermath; Kale is a POW, and Balorfield's romantic interest and the person tabbed as the new leader of the Shadowdale Resistance, Priestess "insert name here", is killed. *6/9: The knights of Shadowdale travel through the Lich Alokair's lair to try to find the Epicenter of the shadow magic / dead magic area, and to try to find their missing friend Kale. Ultimately they battle Alokair and defeat him, and find Kale being held captive by Esvele "Red"Castle. The Knights of Shadowdale defeat their enemies and thwart Shade's dead-magic scheme. Also, a plot to assassinate Tarek Wingspur is discovered. *6/10: Dryden meets with Darklord Zealot in the drow city of Vaerus. Zealot brings Dryden up to speed on the the situation in Cormanthor. The two begin conducting plans for Drydens inclusion in the War between the Drow and Fair Folk in Cormanthor. *6/10: the Knights of Shadowdale begin pursuit of the Lloth worshipping drow. (upholding their end of an agreement with Jezz the Lame). Culminates with killing two out of three of the Matrons Mothers, and killing their ancient weapon master (who was wielding the Elven War Blade). *6/11: Bounties are established on any Ship who's Port of Call is Mulmaster. *6/12: Roc and his men are in full pursuit of the fleeing Barbarian Tribe. The rear vangaurd fromt he tribe tries to ambush Roc. There is a small skirmish, and before either side can gain a definitive advantage, the engagement is broken off. *6/12: The battle of Shadowdale takes place. The combined force from Zhentil keep (led by Balorfield), the dalesfolk (led by Gunther), House Jaelre (led by Jezz the Lame), and Myth Drannor (led by Falconhand, and Storm) attack the Shadovar forces in Shadowdale. Yder Tanthul, and his sister battle the Knights of Shadowdale. Yder is forced to flee, and his sister is killed. The Shadovar are subsequently defeated. In a move that surprised exactly no-one, following the vicotry, the Zhents and Drow turn on the Dalefolk and take Shadowdale for themselves. *6/14: Roc and his men catch up to the Broken Spear Tribe. Roc outmaneuvers the Barbarians, and hems in the Broken Spear Barbarians. In the night assassins sent by Shadorian slip into the barbarian camp, and kill several battlefield leaders. Roc attacks in the morning. The tribe, in a tactically disadvantaged position, and without key leadership, is soundly defeated. Several Broken Tribe warriors manage to lead a small contingent in retreat. But the majority of the tribe is either killed or surrendered. *6/16: Dryden tracks down Vakennis, the alpha of a pack of People of the Black Blood in Cormanthor. He receives the favor of Malar, and discusses forming a massive pack in Cormanthor. *6/18: Laira successfully infiltrates the Auzkovyn Clan in Cormanthor. She begins an effort to usurp leadership. *6/20: Nizzreth scours the Desertmouth mountains looking for goblinoids to recruit. Ultimately, due to recent wars in the area, he is forced to search furthur south into the Thunder Peaks. He manages to secure the "loyalty" of several goblin tribes, an orcish tribe, a small band of ogres, 4 hill giants, 2 stone giants, and a small band of Kenku. * 6/29: Zhent forces from Shadowdale, Voonlar, and Snowmantle converge upon the Flaming Tower and the Temple in the Sky. A small unit of special forces (Cavern, Jaskon, Dmitri, Adolphus, Zulifein, Heskret, Zoran, Obrik, maybe one more....shit i can't remember) led by Cavern Rahn is sent into the Temple in the Sky, but they are repelled. Manum is killed, Dmitri and Adolphus are captured. * 6/30: Cavern leads the group again into the Temple in the Sky, this time bolstered by a fiend summoned by Balorfield. This time they are successful in taking the Temple. Immediately following the main body of troops attack the Flaming Tower. During the Battle Heskret is killed. The Battle itself is a solid victory for the Zhents. The Zhents lose 39 troops, and kill 165 Dales defenders (including Destrin, Jurard, and Jareth) as well as taking around 150 POWs. Flamerule (7) *7/1: Lady Illyana Selkirk of Sembia arrives in Westgate. Bragrum and the away team from the Order of the Black Lion also return from Iriaebor, along with new recruits and refugees. *7/4: Lady Illyana hosts a "house warming" party. Bragrum and the Order of the Black Lion is tasked with security. The party is interupted by an attack. The attackers are fended off, but serious questions arise about an information leak in security. Lady Illyana is placed under the protection of Kun-low "the mad". *7/5: Bragrum receives a desperate message from Kun-low. It seems that the attackers found Lady Illyana's location and stormed the house. When members of the OotBL get there, the safe house is empty. There are signs of a struggle, and careful divination reveals the identity of several of the attackers. They are known (or at least strongly suspected of being) nightmask affiliates. The most notable attacker is revealed to be Lady Dhalia Vhammos. *7/6: Dryden once again meets with Lilandrian of House Daemonfey. Lilandrian brings 2 of his allies, a githyanki and a yugoloth. They discuss progress in recruiting efforts, and re-visit their discussion on dividing the spoils of war. *7/7: Dryden meets with a being called Malkazid. They discuss a possible alliance, and how to bring down the portal network connecting elven nations. *7/8: After 3 days of investigation and interrogation, the Order of the Black Lion catches a break. They obtain some key anonymous tips (revealed to be a Lt. under Torndith Hammersong) that give them the name of Sorenth "Happy" Gorender. Sorenth is discovered to be a count in the court of the nightmasks. The Order of the Black Lion is given an official commission to storm Sorenth's bar (where he had boarded himself in). The Order successfully storms the bar, and reveals Sorenth to be a vampire. Given the undead nature of Sorenth, and his connections to the nightmasks, talks are planned and the possibility of the Order of the Black Lion being officially deputized (with their primary civil directive being the eradication of undead in the city) has been discussed by city officials. *7/10: After sending Iyla into Evermeet, Dryden learns of the location of 1 part of the Scroll of Ardentym. It is said that the scroll contains the knowledge needed to travel to the prime nexus. or portals. *7/11: The Order of the Black Lion, keen on maintaining the momentum and initiative, bring their ire to bear on the well respected House Vhammos. Due to the nature of the target, the Order finds their support from the office of the militia to be less than enthusiastic. Despite this, the Order storms the gates of the Noble House, over comes their outer guards, only to find the Croamarrk Durgar the Just along with the entire Company of the Golden Sun, waiting for them. Lt. Malcom of the Order of the Black Lion is officially placed under arrest. *7/11: Dryden lures a High Mage (named Phaerva) into an ambush in the High Forest. The ambush is defeated, as he had brought along assistants; one of which was a fellow High Mage named Noroj Redlkin. Noroj was able to blunt the attack and teleport the group to safety. *7/13: The Order of the Black Lion refuses to heed the warning/order issued by Croamarrk Durgar the Just to cease and desist in the attack on House Vhammos. The Order attacks the House again. Over a two day ordeal, the Order seiges the House and takes a prisoner. Durgar and his men break the seige and comdemms the attackers as criminals. In following up, Durgar debriefs the captive who the Order had taken prisoner, and it is revealed that the captive does indeed work for the Night masks, thereby possibly exonerating the Order of the Black Lion. *7/13: Dryden assembles a group to follow Phaerva into Evermeet. With Basoga and Kallimun's assistance, they mind switch into elves, and assume a "good" ethical disposition via amnesia. They use a portal in Myth Drannor to slip into Evermeet. Once there, they track down Phaerva's tower and attack. After a pitched battle (where Lilandrian is killed), the group successfully takes Phaerva alive. The arrival of an Elder Titan nearly turned the tide. Among the deaths are Glanahal, an elven Bladesinger, Hawksong Yellowtail, an elven ranger, and Lilandrian Dlardrageth, a Fey'ri bladesinger. *7/15: Order of the Black Lion Head Quarters is attacked by Nightmasks. One of the attackers is Kun-low, who is now a vampire. Bragrum narrowly escapes the assassination attempt, and the attack is repulsed. *7/15: Dryden meeets with Malkahzid and learns of the ritual which will close the ancient portals connecting the former elven kingdoms. *7/16: Dryden gathers himself, Willard, Kelnozz, Nemesis, and Doom the Gloom (there are alternate realities where Dristin, Vambran, and possibly others also join), and venture into the ancient portals. Inside they systematically battle the defenders of the portals (including members of the angelic Hebdomad). The group fight their way to the penultimate portal, where a Baelnorn of significant power thwarts their efforts. Ultimately the group abandons the fight. Dryden is rendered insane, while Kelnozz is petrified (and insane), and are sent to random planes, only Nemesis is killed. *7/16: Bragrum arranges a clandestine meeting with the prinsoner Goristad. During the meeting Goristad makes a deal with Bragrum; if Bragrum can bring in Goristad's brother for a meeting, Goristad agreed to give Bragrum some info on nightmasks who had involvement with Illyana's abduction. *7/17: Bragum returns to the prison of Goristad with Goristad's brother. Goristad and his brother have a private meeting (watched in secret by Sunshine). During the meeting, Goristand is able to switch bodies (some sort of possession/mind switch trick) with his brother. When Bragrum is escorting "the brother" back out of the prison, Sunshine communicates the duplicity to Cyrus. What follows is a strange battle, as Goristad mind switches with Sunshine, and Cyrus, Bragrum, and Sunshine (who is now in Goristad's brother's body) try to subdue him. Eventually they knock him unconscious, and flee, but not before being spotted by the Guard. They take Goristad back to head quarters, where there is much debate about what to do with such a dangerous prisoner. During the debate, Sunshine takes matters into his own hands. Being fearful that Bragrum will either kill the prisoner, or send him to mysterious "higher ups", and thus he would forever lose his body, he makes a quick deal with the prisoner. In exchange for his own body back, Sunshine gives Goristad his freedom. Thus Goristad escapes, and Sunshine is punished and demoted. Soon thereafter, Duegar the Just arrives at OotBL head quarters and for the second time Duegar arrests Bragrum. *7/18: Freshly returned from his quest to close the ancient elven portals, Dryden meets with the Mystic Malarite Sha-Shamun. She has prophesized of his arrival, and sends him out to hunt his spirit animal. Dryden, sans magic or equipment, hunts a legendary panther. He encounters the animal and is nearly defeated by the panther before mortally wounding the cat. He then tracks it for 4 days before finishing the kill. Dryden then takes the kill back to Sha-Shamun, where a magic concoction is brewed. Dryden participates in the ritual and rewarded with Malar's favor (lycanthropy). *7/18: Sunshine and Cyrus attempt to break into the High Halls of Justice in order to break out Bragrum. A trap had been laid out, for just such an attempt. Once Sunshine and Cyrus got to the prison cell that seemingly contained Bragrum, the trap was sprung and Sunshine and Cyrus were ambushed. Instead of surrendering to the authorities, they took hostages, and ultimately chose to try to fight their way out. Sunshine managed to escape (and hide) but Cyrus was caught. 6 members of the city watch were killed. *7/18: Word of the fight in the prison spreads like wild fire througout the city. Sir Kote meets with Chaless the Cruel and gains her support. He also meets with Thessar the Warrior who then begins mustering men at his villa. Some 4 hours after the fight in the prison, Durgar the Just, along with approximately 500 soldiers arrive at the Order of the Black Lion Headquarters. He calls for the arrest and questioning of the Order's officers. He declares any who stand in the way of Justice to be an outlaw, and give the men of the Order of the Black Lion a chance to lay down arms. Sir Kote seems at first to capitulate, heeding Durgar's commands, but quickly reverses course and takes up position behind a phalanx of his men. From the rooftop, Gunner Steelhand fires at Durgar, burying two shots deep into his shoulder. Durgar then sounds the charge. The Knights of the Watch (Durgar's personal guard) inflict heavy damage upon the men of the shield wall, but the Order holds the line. Seeing that they are overmatched against the cavalry of Durgar, they begin to withdraw into the keep. Belroar and Gunner continue to inflict damage from the roof and towers. Just when the retreat into the keep seems to be in the final stages, Bjorn bursts through the line and charges Durgar. Seeing Bjorn exposed and alone, Gunner leaps from the roof to come to the aid of his friend, while firing round after round at Durgar. Sir Kote also halts the retreat in an effort to aid his officers. Bjorn withstands a withering attack from the paladin before unleashing a single, brutal attack. Bjorn's axe slices upwards, coming up underneath Durgar's shield arm, severing his hand at the forarm, and continues its arc through his collar bone, and ultimately burying the head of his ax under the chin of the Paladin. The fall of Durgar the Just, leads to a lull in the battle. Kote ushers his men into the keep, while Allies of Durgar drag his body out of the fray, and withdraw to a position furthur down the street. *7/19: Fighting in the streets of Westgate continues. The Black Lion reveals his identity to his men as (King) Melkose. Melkose then travels to meet Shalush Myrkeer, and forms an alliance with the merchant. Sunshine, meanwhile is dispatched with a team consisting of Gunner, Bjorn, and 5 other elite soldiers, to attack the Church of Tyr and free Bragum the Viper. Sunshine's team is successful, killing Palla the Light in the process of freeing Bragrum, and occupying the Church. Chaless sends an additional 30 soldiers to help maintain possession of the Church. *7/19: Melkose meets with Cor and forms an alliance. After this meeting, Melkose travels to the Church of Tyr in Westgate, and reconsecrates it to the name of Garagos. *7/19: Dryden, Laira, Kale, Willard, and Doom set out to find Ityack-Ortheel (the Elf Eater). They enact the elven portal key which tranports the to the last known location of the creature. The group is transported through an unusual time portal, and end up stuck outside the time stream. They battle a group of inevitables and a Time Dragon. The situation looked dire (Dryden and Doom were sent forward in time) and laira and kale fled the room, leaving willard surrounded by the inevitables and the dragon. Willard broke his staff of the magi for a retributive strike. Slaying himself and his enemies. Once time caught back up to him, Dryden was able to free the Ityack-Ortheel and return him to Cormanthor. *7/20: Melkose Cor and Dross (hidden) venture into the Crypts of Castle Vhammos in order to retrieve the Crown of Westgate. In the crypts they encounter Saldrinar Seven Spells, the First King of Westgate. Saldrinar has become a tomb warden lich. A furious fight ensues, to which Melkose and company come out on top. Upon exiting the crypt, the group is ambushed by King Orlack II. *7/20: Several Malarites and emissaries from the Auzkovyn Clan scout the environs of Semberholme. They follow a trail deep into the underdark and reclaim a magic item that is thought to control the shifting tunnels that riddle the Semberholme waterfront. *7/20: Gunner, Sunshine, Malcolm and 3 other Black Lion soldiers break into the High Halls of Justice in order to free Cyrus. Gaining freedom, a severly wounded Cyrus heads back to Black Lion Headquarters. Sunshine and Gunner maintain vigilence in the Hall of Justice, awaiting reinforcements. Troops from the Mercenaries Guild (led by Stark, Shep Tol and Veran Malavhan) decend on their position. Bjorn, along with 50 Black Lion soldiers arrive just in time to try to intercept the attack. Heavily outnumbered, Bjorn orders the men to charge. Heavy fighting commences both at the gates of the High Halls and in the streets nearby. Ultimately Bjorn is forced to retreat to a nearby building along with his surviving soldiers. Stark is killed by Sunshine and Gunnner, but Shep Tol strikes a terrible blow on Bjorns men. Gunner manages to retreat to the House of Steel, where Chaless is able to assist. She secures an underground passage that accesses a sewer entrance adjacent to the House where Bjorn, sunshine and the soldiers are surrounded. Another melee breaks out when the rescue attempt is made. Shep Tol is severly wounded, and Veran offers up a truce, which is rejected by Chaless. Bjorn, Sunshine, and many of the men are able to escape. All told, The Black Lion suffered 26 KIAs and lost another 8 as POWs. They inflicted an estimated 30-40 casualties on the Mercenaries Guild (including Stark). This marks the bloodiest Black Lion engagement in Westgate to date. *7/21: An elite team consisting of Nimmzear, Nym M'lyzear, Ceri, Sorsha, Pyrra, Safira, and Shounra attack the Church of Bane in Mulmaster. Teldorn Darkhope is killed, Kandor Milinil is taken captive, Xana is killed, Mara is taken captive, Pyrra is killed...several others were also killed (i'll fill in details later) *7/21: overnight around midnight or 1 AM, The Men of the Order of the Black Lion who are bunkered in the city block over the House of Steel are ambushed. Nightmask guerilla fighters attack the outpost and draw out the officers. Gunner, Belroar, and Sunshine respond. Once in the open, 2 powerful Nightmask assassins swoop in. Bjorn and Chaless then join the fray. Ultimately the assassins were driven off, but not before Belroar was killed. *7/21: Zencil leads a team (Fyroth, Isolde, Annoyous, Sunshine, and Gunner) into a hidden cliff side lair which acts as a dock for two Githyanki ships owned by Mulmaster. The team dispatches the githyanki and Mulmasteran crew and claims the ships. *7/22: The Attack on Mulmaster is launched. Shortly after the launch, Malthiir activates his magic tattoo thingy, recalling his mages to a secret bunker. Kallimun, Melkose, Tick, Taren, and Cor piggy-back off this recall and enter the bunker. Inside the bunker they gain access to Malthiir's inner sanctum, where some ritual is being performed. This ritual involves a circle of devil/demon lords syphoning the life from two angels to summon/bind Vangerdhast yet it is also somehow not considered a magic or supernatural ritual (as it is not disrupted by antimagic. it is also not disrupted by the death of multiple members of the ritual. strange. Anywho, The team of 5 quickly dispatched Malthiir, and laid waste to many of the mages in attendance. *7/22: Dragons Carry troops into the city, bypassing the defenders on the walls and at the gates. Thoqqua tunnels are dug also leading the attackers into Mulmaster. Within hours, most of the city is occupied and about half of Mulmaster's forces are killed or taken prisoner. Rassendyl is now the defacto leader of the remaming troops. *7/22: Dryden, Melkose and Kelnozz break into the House of Tyranny in Mulmaster. Inside they battle multiple bane lich's, beholders and finally Haterym himself. *7/22: Chaless, Sunshine, Gunner, and Bjorn gather in the streets of Westgate and set out on a mission to attack the Nightmasks in their strongholds.They attack a gambling house thought to be heavily connected to the thieves guild. The Black Lion team breaks in s.w.a.t. style and makes their way to the second floor of the building, where they are met by 2 (believed to be) vampires. The Black Lion team battles the 2 nightmasks, and ultimately decide upon a tactical withdrawal. *7/22: Willard meets with Dmitra Flass (the princess of Thay and Rassendyl's wife) in order to discuss terms of surrender. Ultimately terms are agreed upon. Rassendyl along with the entire Thayan enclave (including Dmitra) are exiled, not to step foot anywhere in the moonsea region. Any Mulmasterite who wishes to leave, soldier or citizen, will be allowed to, but in an organized fashion directed by Zhent troops. *7/22 - 7/23: Bragrum meets with Mercutio of the Undying. *7/22 - 7/27: Mulmasterite wishing to leave are loaded onto the Chilaidra (Zaratan) as a holding zone and transport. On the zaratan, Dross agents, and sith conduct examinations in order to root out any attempt of subertfuge or sabotage. *7/23 - 7/30: Malarites and Some Auskovyn drow supporting Dryden run a series of attacks in the Northern Semberholme area. The first several ambushes go heavily in favor of the Malarites, but a a third hunting party bites off a bit more than they can chew when they attack an elven scouting party that includes a druid and his Dire Bear companion. Several prominent persons are killed; including Zi'fel (an Auskovyn Clan rep) and Nutter (a were squirrel). *7/23: Attack on the Gambling House 2.0: The Order of the Black Lion attacks a nightmask gambling house again. The attack is led by Mini-Melkose and includes Chaless the Cruel, Gunner and Sunshine. Once again the team attacks SWAT style. This time the nightmasks are prepared, and had a trap waiting for the soldiers. Frosty the Melkose and Chaless manage to escape. Sunshine gets stuck inside the building and tries to hide. Gunner is rendered to dust by an invisible spellcaster. *Shasamon, Kyrran, and Nizzreth set out to recruit or defeat the Storm King. They encounter the Storm King and set off to the top of the mountain to try to free the Giant's patron. Along the way, they encounter a strange drow. *7/23: Sir Kote and Bjorn gather about 70 men and attack some buildings between the Guldar and Vhammos compound in an attempt to free Mercutio the Gladiator-slave. The Black Lion soldiers successfully freed Mercutio and 20 gladiator slaves. *7/23: Melkose, Dross, Cor and Kallimun enter the Wingsong Tower in Myth Drannor on a quest to gain information to find the fabled Terraseer. They battle the elven defenses, destroy Darcassan the Farseer, and obtain the Book of the Black. Dross and Kallimun are able to decipher some of the secrets contained. *7/24: Ten unmarked ships depart the Moonsea heading towards the Dragon Coast. *7/24: Bragrum receives word that Norzack is mobilizing. *7/24: Shasamon is struck down by a white dragon. Kyrran is struck down by Manoth. Nunya (a cloud giant ally of the Storm King) is revealed to be a demoness. Nizzreth attacks Nunya, and ultimately she teleports away. Nizzreth then meets with the mysterious winged drow, who brokers an alliance between Drden's forces and Jaezred Chaulssin (a drow house of assassins). *7/24: A contingent of Tempurians and Tyreans attack the newly consecrated church of Garagos. The attack is led by Battle Master Alekair. A senoir Garagothan named Bendrix blunts the attack, at the cost of his own life. *7/25: Gunner, Belroar, and Bendrix get resurrected. A team consisting of Gunner, Trovial, Trep, Rast, Dladimack, and Bob are sent down to scout the caverns below the Church of Garogos (former Church of Tyr). *7/25: Nizzreth and his new crew head back to the Storm King's abode. They journey back up the mountain and ultimately battle the Storm King and father Llymic. The Nizzreth crew wins the day and recovers the crescet blade. In the after math, the Storm King (now free from Wendonai), heads back to his castle to "clean house". *7/25: Durgar the Just re-enters the fray in Westgate. He rallied the troops at the blackades and leads an attack on the Order of the Black Lion Headquarters. A Bloodbath of South Market Street ensues. Durgar and his men enjoy a heavy numerical advantage, and succesfully drive the Black Lion soldiers from their headquarters. Both sides lose around a hundred men. On the Black Lion side, Cyrus, Norrace, and Bendrix are killed (Bendrix's body is recovered). On the militia side, Hilux (a Battle Captain in the Church of Tempus) and Shep-Tol are killed. *7/26: Melkose, Dross, Cor, Kallimun and Kelnozz, using the map in the Book of the Black, head deep into the Anaurach to retrace Augathra's steps which lead through the Sharn Wall. The map leads them through the Unknown Land, a region around the main phaerimm hive known as the Synod Conclave, which cannot be navigated any other way. It leads them to a colossal cave, where the group of Anti-heroes wage battle against a massive Sand Dragon and his minions, guardians of the Sharn Wall Breach. After slaying the elder wyrm, they camp in a nice little row of instant fortresses. *7/27: After an extended session of epic trap removal, Melkose, Dross, Cor, Kallimun, and Kelnozz enter the lair of Augathra the Mad, who is now the Guardian Sharn protecting the Breach. They battle and defeat several Elder Tomb Tappers and also win an extended battle with the Guardian Sharn, who attacks through portals and casts both arcane and divine magic all simultaneously. The Sharn's spirit returns to the epic wall patching the Breach where its body is slowly reformed. The party passes through the Breach, snapping Busoga's mental link and slowing Cor's connection to his shadow double. *7/27: An emissary from Teziir makes contact with the Order of the Black Lion. Some sort of deal is brokered. *7/27: Torndith Hammersong leads an attack upon Black Lion forces occupying a block of buildings just south of the High Halls of Justice. Black Lion reinforcements are called, but arrive too late. The Black Lion men stationed in that area are forced to retreat underground to tunnels claimed by the Garagothans. The reinforcements then pull back to the Den of Blades. Approximately 25 Black Lion soldiers are killed. *7/27: Bjorn and Gunner lead a counterattack on the Westgate troops in South Westgate. The counter includes troops from Thorsar Castle, Castle Athagdal, and the Black Lions from the Den of Blades. Thessar also rallies his men from the House of Steel. The battle rages with Palla inflicting heavy losses upon the Undying, and the Thorsars (including Lord Thorsar himself). Near the House of Steel, Bjorn (with assistance from Gunner and a lower ranking Garagothan cleric) drops the Tempurian War Troll. Durgar joins the fray and Charges Bjorn. Bjorn in turn one shots Durgar. Striking him dead in the saddle. Only the timely arrival of Sehlmari and his luckblade revives Durgar. Durgar, now incapacited flees the battle. This turns the tide and the Westgate troops quit the battle field. Significant deaths: Gonthan the Blood fury, Lord Thorsar. Significant defeats: Durgar, Alekair. In the aftermath, The black lion troops pull back from the House of Steel and convene at the Den of Blades. *7/28: Melkose, Dross, Cor, Kallimun, and Kelnozz begin exploring the Synod Conclave of the phaerimm. They hike for hours through maze-like tunnels. Unable to magically find their way, they carefully place markers to try to trace their path. Upon finding a phaerimm and golem mining party, they try to engage in diplomacy, promising to set the phaerimm free if they help destroy the Tanthuls. When a phaerimm demands proof they can breach the wall, Cor surprise attacks. They destroy the mining party, killing 3 phaerimm, one an ancient revered elder. Later they attack the laboratory of Culcathrax, a member of Synod's ruling conclave. A nasty fight and three revivifys later, they manage to kill Culcathrax and his protectors. *7/28: At Shar's direction, Kesson Rel, the eldest Chosen of Shar, completes the ritual of the Shadowstorm, bringing his tower and his demiplane, the Audumbral Calyx, to Faerun over the capital city of Sembia, Ordulin. The rift induced by the Shadowstorm spreads a shadowy death over the realms, expanding daily, threatening to engulf and destroy the world. Mirabetta Selkirk, the Overmistress of Sembia, is among the thousands of Ordulin residents irrevocably slain by the coming of the Shadowstorm. * 7/29: A strike force from Westgate including Palla, Torndith, Alekair, and Jacques (the druid), sets forth to destroy/delay Teziirian reinforcements for the Black Lion troops. Sunshine, Gunner, Haladin, Carolyn Stalkingwolf, Reggie, and Belroar?, head out to stop this strike force. The Black Lion men are eventually sent away (with Sunshine very nearly dying) but not before significantly taxing Palla and killing Jacques. *7/29: Melkose, Dross, Kallimun, Kelnozz and Cor probe deeper into the phaerimm hive. They attack a group of illithid torturing a grey skinned human. It turns out to be a trap, and the room is in an Energy Transformation Field set to cast haste spells that heal the mithral golems that popped in to ambush the party. Two phaerimm behind a grate also appearred at the top of the room. Without spells or most magic items to aid them, the party is sorely tested. Cor's shadow double is dispelled by the phaerimm, but the group is victorious, and frees the human from his mental enslavement. He is Burlen the Darkrage, a barbarian who had been in service to Melegaunt Tanthul before being captured and dominated. * 7/29: Durgar the Vengeful leads an attack on the Den of Blades in Westgate. Kotei, Chaless, and Bjorn rally the men and repulse the attack. *7/30: Melkose, Dross, Kallimun, Kelnozz and their new ally Burlen roam the phaerimm tunnels uneventfully for a whole day, struggling to find new territory. They are ambushed at their campsite by mind-enslaved surviving members of the Shade party that previously entered the Synod Conclave, including members of Melegaunt Tanthul's Darkswords, a Tanthul priestess of Shar, and a death giant captain. They were accompanied and directed by a group of illithid serving as host bodies for the Phaerlich, who inhabited them using a magic jar spell. After a very close battle, the shadovar were defeated and the illithid destroyed, though the priestess escaped. Burlen was petrified and shattered. *7/30: Tarek and Shadorian investigate the Shadowstorm that erupted at Ordulin. They enter the Shadowstorm and ultimately meet up with the Nightseer of Shar Rivalen Tanthul, The Left and Right Hands of Mask Drasek Riven and Erevis Cale, and Mephistopholes' favorite whipping boy Kaurik. Only the divine protection of their patrons allows the group to travel the depths of Shadowstorm without succumbing to it. The unlikely band then come up to speed and understand that they must work together in order to thwart Kesson Rel, and hence Shar, from destroying the world. The Shadowstorm Six make their way to the center of the city where the four aspects of Kesson Rel, Furlinastis the Shadow Dragon, Ancalagon (another Shadow Dragon), an abomination of pure fear known as Shar's Will, and several other devoted Sharrans meet the group. At the center of the city, the Shadowstorm Six battle Kesson Rel. During the battle, Drasek is struck by a mighty blow from Kesson and is discorporated, Kaurik (after having summoned his master Mephistopheles) is struck dead, where is soul is then absorbed into his staff, and Shadorian is killed by Ancalagon. Shadorian is immediately revivified and healed by Rivalen, but not before his link with Busoga was severed. With his first taste of freedom in a decade, Shadorian flees. With the situation looking bleak, Dryden is called to help and comes to the city, losing Constitution rapidly to the Shadowstorm. Ultimately, Tarek, Rivalen, and Cale emerge victorious. In the aftermath, Cale and Rivalen, having previously prepared their bodies to receive the divine energy through an ancient Sharran artifact, drink in the aspect of Mask's divinity, stolen by Kesson Rel. Meanwhile Tarek (who it should be noted did some major heavy lifting during the fight) looks on and gets nothing. He sulks in a corner, unhappy with the fact that he used to be a major god and voluntarily gave it up, and nevertheless could probably singlehandedly destroy the newly divine versions of both Cale and Rivalen, and the rest of the Dark Council simultaneously. He cries like a little girl and gets little sympathy from anyone. :) * 7/30: Troops from Teziir make landfall in Westgate. The Akwara family lands in the East Harbor, and the Castalon Family lands just outside the city near Thessar's Villa. Eleasis (8th month) *8/1: Figo Akwara wastes little time in establishing his presence in Westgate. Immediately he loads a small number of troops onto his ship, lights off down the river that bisects the city and rams the one bridge linking the East part of the city to the West. Simultaneously, the main body of his troops attack from the the north, moving in on militia defensive positions. * 8/2: After two and a half days of meandering aimlessly in a closed loop of tunnels, Melkose, Dross, Kallimun, and Kelnozz discover side tunnels the phaerimm used. They also repaired and brought back Burlen. They were ambushed by a couple phaerimm and a mithral golem with a Ghorus Toth's Magnetic Field spell that sucked the majority of their treasure to him. The group managed to prevent them from running off with the goods and destroyed the golem, but not before Dross took several nasty bashes to the face. (but also, let the record show that the golem stood between Dross, Melkose and Kallimun, inside antimagic, and the golem determined that the biggest melee threat was Dross :) Later the group finds itself in a phaerimm ambush in a tunnel that separates Dross from the group. Dross escapes back to the group. After being injured to unconsciousness in antimagic, Kallimun was captured and taken away by Drullister, the phaerimm war master. Later Melkose feels the sentience of the Terraseer guiding him again. The group follows its urges, disintegrating a long complicated tunnel down to a hidden room containing a living vault carved out of the ruined mythallar of the fallen enclave of Synod. The group defeats the living vault and an undead host of the Phaerlich to get into the phaerimm artifact vault, wherein the Terraseer is trapped in an epic binding. *8/2: Kaurik, fresh off his encounter with Kesson Rel, resumes his quest. A deal was made with Tarek, who provided some 15 powerful souls in order to fuel Kaurik's return to his mortal coil. Kaurik then gathered Mephistopheles Disciples and continued their mission to gather the 13 Soldiers of the Apocolypse. They questioned the newcomer, Malakai, and then ventured to Malakai's home world to investigate the disappearance of Runya, Malakai's sister. In the investigation, they discovered an ancient Tome. Kaurik spoke the one word of power that he could decipher, and a group of creatures were gated in. The group was spearheaded (pun) by a Uvuudaum. After a chaotic battle, the Uvuudaum was destroyed. Upon his destruction, the tome pulled in his body and sucked several of the Soldiers in as well. Kaurik, Haigon, Illidius, Ralidot, and Cortez were pulled in. Jarthon, Malakai, The Decay and Beruken managed to resist the pull, and stayed behind. *8/3: Melkose, Dross, Kelnozz, and Burlen, at the Terraseer's direction, enter the heart of the Synod Conclave through secret back tunnels. They drill into the Beholder Hive, where hundreds of beholder "larvae" and some phaerimm young are being incubated, and fight numerous beholders and phaerimm. Burlen is ganged up on and killed, then disintegrated by beholders. Dross and Melkose, in an antimagic kamikazee move, kill Ulithraxes the phaerimm Master of Beholders. Along the way, both take nasty falls. Melkose is killed, and only a blazing display of epic adventuring coordination allows him to barely be revivified in time. He then spends half an hour pussing out before Dross goads him into continuing. The surviving group gets ambushed when the phaerimm set off a trap as Dross was preparing to disarm it. Drullister, phaerimm master of war beat up on Dross while an enslaved, mind switched Kallimun attacked Kelnozz and Melkose. Dross found the Mud Ring and escaped, coining a new term. Kallimun was defeated and Drullister fled. *8/4: Melkose, Kelnozz, and Dross buffed up and attacked the phaerimm necromantic factory. Phaerimm control of the undead elder brain was interrupted with antimagic, allowing him and his minions to turn on the phaerimm. Oomraun the Second Speaker, phaerimm master of shapes, was killed. Kallimun was freed to rejoin the group. A deal was struck with Ullminix the undead elder brain, in which he would make his mindslaves rise up to revolt in the phaerimm hive to keep most of the phaerimm busy while the group assaulted the Phaerlich's lair. The group made its way to Phaerl's lair, and battled the true incarnation of the first phaerimm along with his undead slaves created from the epic allies of Augathra when she entered Synod. The group prevailed in a very high powered fight and destroyed the Phaerlich and recovered his phylactery. *8/5: Melkose, Kelnozz, Kallimun, and Dross use the Phaerlich's phylactery and Oomraun's tail barb as keys in the ritual to unbind and free the Terraseer, destroying the Phaerlich permanently. In return, the Terraseer gave the group the Chalice of Amaunataur, described all the artifacts, gave a detailed account of all senior leaders of Shade, described the Shade ambush waiting for the group, and told them where they could find the Shadow Engine, an artifact made from a sliver of the Shade mythallar with the bound soul of Eldred Tanthul, the first son of Telamont. *8/5: The flying Church of Tempus floats in over Westgate. Illiphane Castalon and Sir Gailen attack the West Gate of Westgate (where Torndith and Palla are defending). House Vhammos attacks the Den of Blades. *8/7: A group of Drow and Malarites (Hesdin, Razanar, Drezzik, Lash, Blight, Reikos, and Sabrae) find an elven tunnel while scouting in the Semberholme area. They discover an ancient stronghold containing hundreds of magical elven statues. It is determined that these statues are a magical elven defense. During the plundering of this stronghold, Blight is killed by a roper. They also find a map detailing the location of three other such strongholds. They immediately set off to capture one of these locations in area described as Tall Trees. *8/10: Nearly all the Jaerle and other drow in and around Dryden's camp in Cormanthor vacate the area. This seems to be at the direction of House Chaulsinn. *8/11 - 8/14: Hesdin, Razanar, Drezzik, Lash, Reikos, and Sabrae are joined by Kazzen, a drow from Bregan D'aerthe. They find another elven stronghold deep in the magical Tall Trees region of Semberholme. They are also tracked by a large elven hunting party. Sabrae and Reikos split off from the group to lead the hunting party astray. Inside the stronghold, the group encounters stiff resistance from a wizard, who is ultimately defeated, and discovered to be a simulacrum. Eventually the group gains entrance to a secret room containing hundred of elven statues. They discover that all of these statues contain a soul of an elite elven warrior, and they can be animated by a Tel'kiira. Unsure of how to maintain effective control of the elven statues, the group decides to smash them in order to ensure that the elven defense does not get access to them. Reikos is captured by the elven hunting party. *8/14: Nearly three weeks after the defeat of Father Lymic, Nizzreth sets out to return to the Storm King's castle to follow up on recruitment. Category:Timeline